POTTERY SHAPES & TERMINOLOGY - TFAHR

THE TEXAS FOUNDATION
FOR
ARCHAEOLOGICAL & HISTORICAL RESEARCH
POTTERY
SHAPES & TERMINOLOGY

This presentation is designed
to introduce the first-time
archaeology student to some
of the basic pottery shapes
encountered on a number of
TFAHR’s excavations.
Unfortunately, there is no
universally accepted
vocabulary even for classical
pottery shapes, the
terminology often varying
significantly from site to site
and archaeologist to
archaeologist. Neither can
we rely on ancient Greek or
Latin terms, which were often
used just as loosely by
classical authors. The
following TFAHR “lexicon-inprogress”
should help as an
introduction to basic
ceramics terminology.

POTTERY PROFILE AND TERMINOLOGY
After a ceramic find (either a sherd or entire vessel) has been cleaned,
identified and catalogued, a profile is made for future publication. The
concept of the profile is to present both an exterior view and a profile
“cutting” of the piece. For TFAHR publications, it is customary for us to
present the exterior view on the right and the profile cutting on the left.
STEM
All photographs and pottery profiles are from the
TFAHR Photo Archive, unless otherwise noted.
RIM or LIP
NECK
SHOULDER
BODY
HANDLE
BASE or FOOT

ALABASTRON (
An alabastron is a small vessel
of glass, stone, or terracotta
that contains perfumed or
scented olive oil. Traditionally
it has a rounded bottom, a
narrow neck, and two vestigial
handles. When the two
handles do form actual loops,
that may be an indication that
a string was run through them
and the alabastron carried in
such a fashion. The obvious
connection with the word
“alabaster” is probably due to
the fact that the earliest such
jars for scents and perfumes
were made from the stone, or
at least the more expensive
ones were.

AMPHORA (
An amphora is a two
handled storage jar with
an ovoid body. Often the
base ends in a point,
originally to facilitate
stacking and storage in
shipping (wine, oil, etc.).
A flat based amphora is
often called a “table
amphora.”

Often the handles of
amphoras are stamped with
information regarding the
vintner, manufacturer, or the
point of origin of the
contents within the amphora.
Amphoras
were used for
many other
purposes
besides the
transport and
storage of
liquids, such
as cinerary
urns (above)
and prizes
(left).

AMPULLA
An ampulla, as it name implies,
is a vessel with handles on
both sides, much like an
amphora. But an ampulla is
small, usually about handsized
and contained oils or
unguents. In Christian times
ampullae were commonly
distributed at pilgrimage
shrines, where the faithful
received ampullae with oil
consecrated at the shrine;
often images of the saint, the
shrine, or the pilgrimage to the
shrine decorated the vessel.
The shape of the ampulla is
closely related to that of the
pilgrim’s flask.

ARYBALLOS ()
An aryballos is a small globular
vessel with a very narrow neck,
almost always with just one
handle, and a large flaring rim.
The aryballos contained olive
oil. Many depictions show
athletes carrying the aryballos
by a rope as they walk to the
gymnasium.
Credit: Wikimedia Commons, Photographer: Marie-Lan Nguyen

ASKOS ()
In Homer the word
refers to a wine skin or a
leather bag. Some of the
earliest examples of the
askos do, in fact, imitate its
leather predecessor (left).
The classical askos retains
this squat shape and
generally has a wide mouth
and a single handle.

BEAKERS
Beakers are tall
cylindrical drinking
or measuring
vessels. They
usually do not have
a foot but rather a
flat or rounded
bottom. Some
beakers have
vestigial handles
that serve no
practical function.
Beakers are rarely
decorated or
painted.

BLACK FIGURE
The black figure style of
ancient Greek pottery is
characterized (as it name
implies) by black silhouetted
figures on the red background
of the vessel. The figures
often have incised outlines.
The technique of attaining the
black figure was to paint with a
slip the desired figure directly
onto the pot. The firing
required three stages: 1) the
oxidizing stage in which air is
let into the kiln, turning the
whole pot the color of the clay;
2) the reduction stage in which
green wood is added to the fire
and the air supply reduced,
turning the pot black; and 3)
the final stage in which air is
re-introduced into the kiln,
turning the vessel back to its
original color, except for the
painted parts which retain their
black color.

Black glaze echinoi.
BLACK GLAZE
What distinguishes black glaze
from black figure is that rather
than individual figures being
painted with a slip, the entire
vessel (or at least a good
portion of it) is covered with
slip before being fired. If the
vessel is improperly fired, the
resulting glaze can turn out to
be a reddish or brown color.
Black glaze salt cellar. Black glaze sherd with graffito.

COOKING POTS / COARSE WARE / CHYTRA (
Cooking pots are generally large, rough, undecorated
vessels commonly referred to as “coarse ware.” The
pots were usually placed right in the fire or into the
coals. Many had lids that fit over the large, open
mouth. Cooking pots come in a great variety of
shapes and handle arrangements. In ancient Greek
the simple cooking pot, was called a chytra ().

ECHINUS ()
The word echinus (which
originally meant nothing
more than “jug” in Greek)
is now commonly used to
refer to a bowl with its rim
curved to the inside. There
is usually a foot and the
echinus can be glazed or
unglazed.

GRAFFITO
The term graffito (plural:
graffiti) comes from the
Greek , meaning “to
draw, scratch, or write.”
Consequently, a graffito can refer to a drawing or word
scratched into something, like a potsherd or stone. In
general, graffito does not refer to an inscription
officially and deliberately carved into a stone or a word
or image intentionally stamped into a vessel before it
was fired. The use of the word graffito has the
connotation of it being a later afterthought.

GUTUS
The gutus is a small globular vessel
with a spout. It is used to pour olive
oil into an oil lamp. Often there is a
strainer built into the gutus to help
strain out the impurities in the olive
oil.

HYDRIA ()
As its name implies,
the hydria is a water
vessel, usually for
transport or storage.
The hydria has three
handles: two are
horizontal and one
vertical. The two
horizontal handles
are for lifting the
vessel, the vertical
one for pouring and
perhaps carrying,
when the pot is
empty.

ICHTHYA / FISH PLATE ()
An ichthya is used to serve fish. It
commonly has a small well in the center
to hold sauce. Fish plates can be glazed
or unglazed and often have roulette
decoration or incisions around the well.

KANTHAROS ()
The kantharos is a wine-drinking vessel of a
very antiquated form. It can be glazed or
unglazed. Most are two-handled, wide-mouthed,
and footed and flat based. Many have painted
decoration on the upper part of the vessel or
molded decoration on the lower part.

Drawing wine from a
bell-krater.
KRATER ()
A krater, as it name implies, is a vessel
in which wine is mixed, usually with
water. It is a large vessel that comes in
many distinctive shapes. The mixed
wine is drawn from the krater and
served into drinking vessels.
A calyx-krater.
Credit: Wikimedia Commons, Photographer: Marie-Lan Nguyen
A volute-krater.

KYLIX ()
A kylix is a drinking cup. Its traditional
shape is broad and shallow, with two
flaring handles, and a thin stem. They are
often depicted as the favored cup on
symposium scenes.

LAGYNOS ()
The lagynos was a type of wine jug popular
in the Hellenistic period; lagynos is usually
translated as “flask” or “flagon.” It is
characterized by a long narrow neck,
usually supported by a single slender
handle, and a squat or globular lower body
with a lid-like upper body.
The surface of the upper
body is often decorated with
symbols alluding to the
Dionysic cult, as would be
expected in a wine vessel.
Some scholars have
concluded, however, that the
lagynos was a ritual vessel used exclusively in ceremonies
honoring the god. Lagynoi of metal and terracotta have
been discovered. The statue by Myron of Thebes (ca. 300
BC) entitled variously The Drunken Hag or The
Fisherwoman depicts an intoxicated woman clutching a
large lagynos.

LEKYTHOS ()
The lekythos is a small
vessel for unguents,
balms, or perfumed olive
oil. It is usually flatfooted
and can be made
without a handle or with
one vertical handle. The
lekythos shape is very
ancient and traditionally
the lekythos was
associated with funerals
and burials. It contained
a small amount of oil
which was left as a votive
or offering at the grave
site.

LOOM WEIGHT
A loom weight is a pierced weight
through which the woof (vertical)
threads of a textile are run while the
textile is on the loom. The weight
keeps the textile taut while the warp
(horizontal) threads are run through
it. Loom weights come in many
different sizes and shapes. They are
often decorated with incised marks or
stamps.

MOLD-MADE POTTERY
Instead of being thrown on the
potter’s wheel, mold-made pottery
is pressed into a fired terracotta
mold. It is decorated on the
exterior and usually lacks a foot. It
is often loosely referred to as
“Megarian Ware,” after Megara,
one of the ancient centers of its
manufacture.

MORTARIUM / GRINDER
The mortarium or grinder is used for
pressing or grinding juice from a plant
or perhaps some very light pounding
of grains or herbs. The mortarium
found at Bylazora in 2008 was carved
from stone. Like most mortaria it had
two handles (one missing) and a builtin
spout.

OIL LAMP ()
The oil lamp was the chief means of
illumination in antiquity (See: TFAHR
Historic Images – Ancient Oil Lamps).
Its shape varied greatly across place
and time. Many were made in halves
in molds, joined, and then fired. Olive
oil was the chief fuel.

OINOCHOE ()
The oinochoe is, as its name implies,
a (wine-) pouring vessel. Its most
distinctive feature is its trefoil or
pinched spout, as compared to the
spoutless olpe.

OLPE ()
An olpe is a small
pitcher usually with
just one handle
and no spout, as
compared to the
trefoil spout of the
oinochoe.

PAIONIAN GREY WARE
Amongst the Paionians (for a short
history of the Paionians, see the TFAHR
2008 and 2009 excavation reports
online) the most common terracotta
ware is loosely referred to as “Paionian
Grey Ware.” It is grey in color, wheelmade,
occasionally slipped or
burnished, sometimes utilizing the
shapes or earlier periods, but more
often being adapted to Greek shapes.

PITHOS ()
A pithos is a very large
storage jar for grain or
liquids. It is set partially into
the ground, and once set in
position usually not moved
again. If a pithos was
damaged, it was common to
mend the pithos with lead
clamps. A stone or terracotta
disk covers the top of the
pithos.

PILGRIM’S FLASK
The shape of the pilgrim’s flask is essentially the
same as that of the ampulla, but the pilgrim’s
flask is larger; it is two-handled, narrow-necked,
and has a globular body, almost always without
a foot (lower left is a rare exception). It gets its
name from the fact that in the Middle Ages
Christian pilgrims were accustomed to carrying
wine or water in such vessels when they
traveled. Although the terminology is medieval,
the shape itself goes back to the Bronze Age in
the Mediterranean and is thought to be a
terracotta imitation of some sort of leather water
bag or pouch. Decoration is usually simple
lines or circles, although
Roman pilgrim’s flasks, which
were often mold-made, had
raised decorations on them
(right).

PYXIS ()
The term “pyxis” comes from the Greek
pyxos (), the box-tree or the box-wood
tree; pyxis, then, means a box made from
box-wood. Now pyxis is generally used to
refer to just about any type of small
container. Pyxides can be made from metal,
terracotta, ivory, or stone. Generally all
pyxides have a lid of some sort. Most are flat
based but some have elaborate feet,
generally animal claws.

RED FIGURE
In contrast to the black figure vessel, red figure
pottery is characterized by red figures on a
black background. Instead of painting the
individual figures with a black slip, the entire
background except for the figures is painted
with a black slip. The firing process is the same.

RHYTON (
A rhyton is a drinking cup
that can take many
different shapes.
Generally speaking, the
term is now used to refer
to flamboyantly shaped
vessels, such as those
taking the form of animals
or men. Festive rhytons
are often pointed at one
end (to discourage setting
down an undrained cup)
and wide-mouthed at the
other. They can be made
out of terracotta, metal, or
precious material, like
ivory.

SALT CELLAR
The small vessels of a spool-like
shape were dubbed “salt
cellars” because of their
resemblance to the Victorian era
pot of a similar shape. Many
archaeologists regard the salt
cellar simply as another type of
pyxis, but one usually without a
lid. In fact, these small vessels
could have had any number of
uses.

SKYPHOS ()
A skyphos is a deep
drinking vessel with two
horizontal handles; it may
or may not have a foot.
The term refers to many
different shapes and
skyphoi are often depicted
in symposium scenes.

STAMNOS (
A stamnos is a vessel for
storing, serving, or racking
off wine, that is, separating
the liquid from the dregs
and impurities. Although a
stamnos generally has a
globular body, there is a
considerable variation in
the shape and arrangement
of the base, handles, and
neck. It is a relatively rare
type of vessel. Most
commonly it has been
found in sites in Etruria.

STRAINER
There are many vessels that have
a strainer built into the spout. The
exact function of this vessel
(discovered at Ulanci, Republic of
Macedonia) is uncertain. One idea
is that it was used to ferment
some beverage, like mead or beer.
The strainer would filter out the
impurities and solids in the liquid.
Another theory is that it simply
was used to strain the larger
impurities out of some vegetable
or fruit juice. The holes of the
strainer are rather large.

UNGUENTARIUM
An unguentarium is a small,
cylindrical vessel used to hold oil or
oil-based perfume. Unguentaria are
usually just a couple of centimeters
tall and without handles. They have a
bulge either in the middle or at the
bottom of the vessel; some are flat
bottomed and some are footed.

WEST SLOPE DECORATION
“West Slope Decoration” takes its
name from the site where it was
first discovered, on the west slope
of the Athenian acropolis. It is a
technique of painting, usually in
white or beige, on an already fired
black glaze vessel. It was
developed in Athens in the late
fourth century BC. Floral, marine,
or geometric motifs are most
common.